Secretary James: More Air Force Diversity Initiatives on Way

Posted September 20, 2016 at 8:15am

Air Force Times reports that “the Air Force is planning a second round of initiatives to improve the diversity of the service’s ranks, Secretary Deborah Lee James said Monday at the Air Force Association’s Air Space Cyber conference.”

“In March 2015, James announced a sweeping set of nine programs that aimed to improve the opportunities for women and minorities in the Air Force. Those initiatives included waiving height restrictions for pilots, increasing the pool of female officer applicants, allowing airmen to take time off to start a family or go back to school, and extending the post-pregnancy deployment deferment from six months to a full year.”

“But the Air Force needs to do more to make sure it’s attracting the top talent from all communities, James said in her keynote address at the conference here.”